The invention relates to a sealing unit for sliding onto a water outlet with formation of a fluid-tight connection with a water hose or similar that is equipped with said sealing unit and that comprises at least one outer sealing ring consisting of an elastic material and having an annular base body, from the area of which that is oriented towards the center, a circumferential outer sealing collar extends towards the center, which collar is moreover inclined in the insertion direction and encloses an opening through which the water outlet can be inserted, and a sliding funnel comprising an annular circumferential base body resting upon the exterior of the base body of the sealing ring, and from which several lobe-type tongues articulated to the base body by means of their bases, extend radially inwards, which tongues rest upon the exterior of the outer sealing collar and form a kind of funnel together, and the free ends of which enclose the opening for the insertion of the water outlet.
A generic sealing unit has already been described in International Application PCT/EP 99/05680, which is not an earlier publication. Moreover, sealing units comprising the sealing collars of interest here, are described in German Patent Application 19835624.5, as well as in German Utility Model 29907097.2.
Normally, it is not possible to connect a hose without further measures with a water outlet of a water source, e.g. a water tap, in such a manner that the connection resists the water pressure and allows as little water as possible to exit to the outside at the joint.
In the above-mentioned publications, an adapter coupling is described provided with a sealing unit, which enables a water-conducting and as tight as possible connection to be established between a water tap or the like and a hose, whereby the water tap can have any desired shape and/or cross-section.
Upon slipping this known adapter coupling onto a water outlet, the sealing collar made of an elastic material expands, and then adapts to the outer contour of the water outlet. The sealing function at this point between the sealing collar and the water outlet, however, is not yet satisfactory, in particular when high pressures are applied.
It is therefore the task of the present invention to provide a sealing unit having an improved sealing function, in particular with high pressures.
The inventive sealing unit has a sliding funnel comprising an annular circumferential base body. The inventive sealing unit moreover has a sealing ring made of an elastic material and having an annular base body, from the interior area of which a circumferential outer sealing collar extends towards the center. The sliding funnel has an annular circumferential base body resting on the exterior of the base body of the sealing ring. The term xe2x80x9cexteriorxe2x80x9d thereby designates that direction that points towards the water outlet or water tap to be inserted into the sealing unit. From the base body, several lobe-type tongues arranged side-by-side, tapering radially inwards, being approximately of the same configuration, and being articulated to the base body by means of their bases, extend radially inwards, which tongues likewise rest upon the exterior of the outer sealing collar. Thus, they are inclined approximately angular to the entry direction and form a kind of funnel. Their free ends are located approximately on a circle that forms the opening into which the water outlet will be inserted. This sliding funnel appropriately consists of a plastic material as smooth as possible, as well as non-elastic, such as polypropylene (PP) or PVC.
The lobes of said sliding funnel hence are flat, thin and plate-like entities, respectively.
One of the essential features of the present invention resides in that these tongues exhibit at their free ends a thickened portion provided with a supporting surface that is arranged approximately perpendicular to the plane of the tongue and approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tongue. The function of this thickened portion will be described hereafter.
Whereas the sliding funnel is comprised of a rather non-elastic material, the sealing ring is made of an elastic material such as rubber. The sealing ring features an annular continuous and circumferential base body. From the interior area, a continuous circumferential outer sealing collar extends towards the center. Said sealing collar, in the inoperative state, is inclined angular to the insertion direction and encloses with its free inner edge the opening into which the water outlet will be inserted.
A further important inventive feature resides in that the outer sealing collar passes over radially inwards into a prolongation that extends towards the center beyond the free ends of the tongues of the sliding funnel. This prolongation is configured as a torus at its free edge. The prolongation can pivot with its torus about the connection point between the sealing collar and the prolongation with the inventive sealing unit being used accordingly, and hence can pivot about that connection point, which can also be designated as a predetermined bending point, upon being acted upon with pressure by a fluid, and thereby comes into abutment against the supporting surface. The torus that therewith is thicker than the sealing collar, as well as the prolongation in the area of the connection point, is thereby supported by the free ends of the tongues, and consequently improves the sealing effect between the water outlet (to be more precise, the envelope thereof) and the sealing unit, as will hereafter be described in more detail.
The inventive sealing unit can be inserted in an adapter coupling that is described in the initially mentioned publications. The sealing unit, however, can also be inserted in other tubular structures or such like, and can serve the purpose of connecting the most diverse water outlets, for example, with a pipe, a hose, etc.
Due to the interaction of the thickened portion at the lobe ends with the torus, the sealing action is improved when a pressure is applied with a fluid under pressure, since, due to the pressurized fluid, the sealing torus is pressed between the thickened portion of the sliding funnel and the outer envelope of the inserted water outlet, etc., which will be discussed hereafter in more detail.
According to a preferred embodiment, the ring cross-section of the torus is configured approximately semicircular, the bulged side pointing radially outwards and hence towards the water outlet to be inserted. The prolongation then is joined at its radial outer edge with the sealing collar. In other words, the transition zone from the sealing collar to the prolongation constitutes the connection point or predetermined bending point. Thus, even more material is pressed into the area between the lobe ends of the slide funnel and the outer envelope of the water outlet. The outer sealing collar and the prolongation thereby are preferably configured one-piece and consist of the same elastic material.
The sealing effect is further supported by an O-ring-shaped thickened portion situated approximately in that area, which, in the inoperative state, is in the center of the sealing collar, or is closest to the center of the sealing collar. This O-ring-shaped thickened portion, alike the sealing collar and the prolongation, respectively, is also comprised of an elastic material, which, however, is harder than the material of the associated sealing collar and the associated prolongation.
Preferably, the sealing collar features a layer on its side oriented towards the sliding funnel and therewith on its outer side, which layer extends up to the O-ring-shaped thickened portion and is comprised of the same material as the O-ring-shaped thickened portion. This layer facilitates the relative displacement of the sliding funnel and the sealing collar during the introduction of the water outlet.
The elastic material of the O-ring-shaped thickened portion and the mentioned layer can, for example, have a Shore A hardness of 60-80, and can be a silicone rubber, whereas the material of the sealing ring or sealing collar can have a Shore A hardness of 20-30, and can likewise be a silicone rubber or a natural rubber.
At the side of the outer sealing ring opposing the sliding funnel, preferably a further inner sealing ring is disposed having an inner sealing collar configured approximately alike the outer sealing collar and extending towards the center up to the connection area where the outer sealing collar passes over into the prolongation. Preferably, the inner sealing collar, in the connection area, is connected with the outer sealing collar or is configured one-piece with same.
Between the outer sealing collar and the inner sealing collar, at least one ring disk reinforcement is arranged featuring an outer circumferential ring area, from where several lobe-type tongues articulated to the ring area by means of their bases, arranged side-by-side in a circle, and configured approximately identical, extend radially inwards. These tongues taper starting from that area where they are articulated to the ring area, towards their free ends. The free ends of the tongues of this ring disk reinforcement are approximately located on a circle enclosing the opening for the insertion the water outlet. The ring disk reinforcement appropriately is a thin disk or small plate made of a plastic material. The connection area of the tongues to the ring area quasi constitutes a film hinge.
According to a further preferred embodiment, two ring disk reinforcements of that kind are present, that rest one upon the other and are arranged between the outer and the inner sealing collar. In this case, the two ring disk reinforcements are mutually twisted in such a manner that the edge line of the tongues of the first ring disk reinforcement comes to rest upon the center line of the tongues of the second ring disk reinforcement. Said ring disk reinforcements, for the remainder, are described in the initially mentioned publications.
The cross-sectional shape of the tongue thickened portions of the sliding funnel approximately corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of a dog""s bone, with a broad torus-like protrusion pointing into the insertion direction, and a narrow torus-like protrusion pointing into the opposing direction. The supporting surface thereby is quasi supported by these two protrusions.